<p>Here’s a general idea:
My parents make around $120,000-150,000 yearly. After taxes, health insurance and retirement deductions, my parents bring home around $88,000.
Mortgage is around $21,000-22,000.</p>
<p>My sister is at university, with no financial aid or scholarships (she didn’t do very well in school) My parents pay around $4500-6000 of her tuition yearly and cover living and housing costs.</p>
<p>I’m not certain if this is relevant but my family also sort of serves as a financial crutch for the rest of our relatives…
Since we’re one of the few family members that are not encroached in debt or completely bankrupt, several of our uncles and aunts come to us for money and assistance. Family is very important for our cultural values so abandoning them isn’t really an option.
For instance, my grandmother passed away recently. My parents covered all of the funeral and medical costs because no one else was willing to do so. We’re in a rough spot because of it…</p>
<p>I’m not sure what kind of evaluation of your financial situation you’re looking for. Do you have a specific question?</p>
<p>Do you think that I would be able to qualify for financial aid based on these circumstances? I don’t really know a lot about financial aid…do they take taxes and other circumstances into account? Or should I depend on merit scholarships and loans?</p>
<p>You could run the calculator for the schools you are interestedin although I think it would better to try and find merit aid. If you have the gpa and test scores there are good schools that give out decent merit aid.</p>
<p>Everybody would claim “give lots of support to umpteen relatives” if they thought it would get financial aid and help them avoid paying for their own kids. Why is it a college’s problem that a family takes on supporting tons of relatives? Sorry, that kind of frosts me. Give it all away to other people and expect the college to make up for it?</p>
<p>Your sister in college will be taken into account. Taxes, insurance and housing payments are something most families have and won’t make a difference. Your numbers don’t seem unusual. Helping to support relatives is a choice and will not be taken into account. Run your numbers through a fafsa calculator or the calculators on the websites of the schools you’re interested in.</p>
<p>Your family’s first priority is to take care of their own children FIRST. If they did that, then when those relatives came begging, your parents would be able to honestly answer, “we don’t have the money.” That should be FINE, because as you say, others in your family don’t step up and pay when THEY don’t have the money. </p>
<p>So, cultural pressures shouldn’t come up if the money isn’t there to give, right? If those who don’t have money don’t feel the cultural pressure to pay, then your parents won’t feel the cultural pressure to pay if their money is committed to your education. Of course, who knows how your parents will think. However, it would seem odd if they were to say, “We’re going to still pay for your sister’s college, but you’re out of luck.”</p>
<p>Yes, your EFC will split because there are two in school, but that may not mean much. It sounds like your sister doesn’t attend a school that gives great aid, so even with a reduced EFC, your parents may still have to pay the same amount for her. Sounds like they’re paying about $16k for your sister (tuition, R&B, etc). It doesn’t sound like they can pay $30k for two in school. </p>
<p>To be safe, I think you should apply to schools that will give you large scholarships for your stats along with other schools that you like.</p>
<p>But, back to your question…Schools are not going to give you more money because your parents CHOOSE to pay for others’ debts, etc. If a school were to do that, the school would essentially be paying for your relatives expenses. Why would a school do that?</p>
<p>Your FAFSA EFC is heavily income driven (use your parents’ AGI). Assets count at 5.6% above a protected amount. It’s a pretty straightforward calculation that will consider having two kids in college but not your bills or choices to support relatives. </p>
<p>Here’s the formula: <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/091312EFCFormulaGuide1314.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/091312EFCFormulaGuide1314.pdf</a></p>
<p>The schools bandied about on cc often use a different form, called the profile, which will ask additional questions, about home equity and retirement savings, for example. Each school uses the data differently. Generally, a profile school will determine you have less need than a FAFSA only school.</p>
<p>And, in the end, most schools do not promise to meet your need anyway.</p>
<p>So, assessment of your financial situation? You will be expected to come up with a fairly hefty sum.</p>
<p>Your sister being in college will ONLY “count” while you are both attending college at the same time. Otherwise, not relevant at all.</p>
<p>I would suggest you run the net price calculators for ALL of the schools that you are interested in applying to. This will give you a good estimate of the type of aid you would receive at each school. Do them ALL as the formulas for institutional aid vary from school to school.</p>
<p>If either of your parents is self employed, owns a business, or your family owns additional real estate on top of your primary residence, these calculators can be a bit inaccurate.</p>
<p>As noted by others, consumer debt (including your mortgage) and giving money to extended family are NOT considered in the financial aid equation. Those are considered choices. Everyone has housing expenses of some sort for their primary residence.</p>